Hurty knees? - Newbie question!

Hello all--

Just "flipped" the wheel to ride my new Condor Tempo fixed for the past couple of days.

Needless to say, I'm loving it, esp. (wobbly) track-standing and a moderate amount of leg-braking (at v. slow speed so far), but my knees are killing me. So, I'm wondering: Will this pass? Or will I get used to it and / or develop the muscles of a sumo wrestler? Or am I just being a big wet blanket?! Anyone have any tips to keep the knees limber?

If I get the hang of it, I may yet come down to the car park in Peckham for a spot of polo....

can't wait to take on this tempo at stabby stabby polo.

Try a lower gear, mine used to hurt loads (they were dodgy to begin with) but they're totally fine now...

You should get used to it, as with any newish joint/muscle movement.

yeah give it a few weeks/month you'll be fine.

it'll get better, I hurt for the first couple of weeks, you just have to get used to the different riding position and muscles you're using, freewheel is a lot more forgiving on your muscles/knees, so when you switch it hurts a bit

put your saddle down........this is the nth time this question has been asked on this forum.....not a problem, but this site already is a massive resource if you search.....

@ Winston:

Down? I thought too low was a cause of knee issues and too high for hip problems?

I say that because mostly people ride with their saddle too high, yes too low would also cause knee problems....

it worked for me when I was a courier and for everyone else I've known, a lot of people think that having a higher saddle gives you full leg extension therefore give you more power (and makes you look cool), this is true to a degree (not the cool bit) but really, piddling around London isn't the TdF prologue is it? and actually you don't get a fluid circular, efficient stroke. if your leg is nearly straight at the bottom of the stroke or for an experiment you can't pedal with your foot horizontal all the way round the stroke, your saddle is way too high for riding fixed and you will have knee problems......you can tell if your mates saddle is too high when you ride behind them, the pedal literally pulls the hip towards it and their bum will rock from side to side.

Yep, my old man always told me that with the pedal at the bottom of the stroke and my heel above the axle, that my knee should be noticeably bent - as in not massively bent, just enough that it's obvious. Then your saddle is at the correct height.

inner leg measurement times .883 give you the distance from the top of your pedal to the top of your seat, i believe.

or in the saddle with you heal on your pedal your leg should be straight, this would give you a slight bend in the knee with the toe/ ball of your foot on the pedal

inner leg measurement times .883 give you the distance from the top of your pedal to the top of your seat, i believe.

or in the saddle with you heal on your pedal your leg should be straight, this would give you a slight bend in the knee with the toe/ ball of your foot on the pedal

agreed to both, how many people know how to accurately measure their inside leg??

I use your second suggestion, but only as a guide because all shoes have different heel thicknesses...

you can tell if your mates saddle is too high when you ride behind them, the pedal literally pulls the hip towards it and their bum will rock from side to side.

Doesn't seem to do jonny any problems - it's what he calls "using both sides of the saddle". :)

Yep, my old man always told me that with the pedal at the bottom of the stroke and my heel above the axle, that my knee should be noticeably bent - as in not massively bent, just enough that it's obvious. Then your saddle is at the correct height.

that's what i've always done.

Richard Ballantine (Richard's bicycle book) and V Thomas (Saddle height, Cycling, Jan. 1967) both assert that maximum power is developed when saddle height (pedal spindle to top of saddle) is about 10% greater than inside leg measurement.
I've used this as a starting point on all my bikes and adjusted from there.

and the added advantage of Richard Ballantine's method is that you get to "dash" the brains out of a small (but deadly) dog

You need to change to a fucking massive gear. Something like 53x11, and 53x12 in the Winter.

It's a well known fact that peripheral tendon fibres in the patella region (both medial and lateral) generate fastest at cadences of less than 40rpm, particularly with a cashew-rich diet.

You need to change to a fucking massive gear. Something like 53x11, and 53x12 in the Winter.

It's a well known fact that peripheral tendon fibres in the patella region (both medial and lateral) generate fastest at cadences of less than 40rpm, particularly with a cashew-rich diet.

What a load of bollocks! It's pistachios.

Or am I just being a big wet blanket?!

Yes. HTFU.

You need to change to a fucking massive gear. Something like 53x11, and 53x12 in the Winter.

It's a well known fact that peripheral tendon fibres in the patella region (both medial and lateral) generate fastest at cadences of less than 40rpm, particularly with a cashew-rich diet.

What a load of bollocks! It's pistachios.

The research has shown, time and time again, that it's cashews for the knees, and pistachios for increasing VO2 max. Then there's macadamias for lactate threshold, Brazils for anaerobic work, and hazelnuts for zone 2 endurance stuff.

Your researchers were obviously paid peanuts.

Nuts? It's all nuts round here!

peanuts ha

What a load of Cob nuts

the q-factor might be awry, worth a shot anyway since people sometimes have problems with their knees when the q-factor is too much

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_q.html#qfactor
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/bridgestone/1991/pages/bridgestone-1991-13.htm

i love those old marketing blurbs